“It’s unfortunate Michigan decided to balance its budget on the backs of local government,” said Ed Klobucher, Hazel Park city manager. The city, with a population of 16,600, lost $7.5 million between 2003 and 2013.

“It’s really been a double whammy – we were target of convenience for the state and then we were hit with huge revenue losses due to real estate market drop.”

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Statutory revenue sharing is earmarked by state law for local communities across Michigan to support essential services including police and fire, water systems, road maintenance, and parks and libraries, according to the municipal league’s report.

Between 2003 and 2013, $6.2 billion – the calculated percentage of sales tax revenues collected at local levels – was diverted from local communities by the governor — first Jennifer Granholm, then Rick Snyder — and Legislature to plug holes in the state budget and to pay for tax cuts for businesses, the report said.

The report focused on communities in districts connected with lawmakers on the appropriations committee.

Observers said the report is a way of reminding state politicians that cities have taken large revenue sharing cuts and should get a piece of the state’s current $1 billion surplus.

Pontiac lost an astounding $40.5 million.

“The emergency managers would have retired all debt and made additional contributions to long-term liabilities,” said Joseph Sobota, city administrator.

Birmingham gave up $5.8 million.

“That would have paid for extra police and fire. It would have paid for roads and gone toward services for seniors,” said Mayor Scott Moore, who has served on the commission 15 years. “That’s money we would have used. That’s a lot of money.

“Within the last 10 years, the state just did what it was going to do, pushing its problems to the cities.”

Farmington Hills lost $20.5 million.

“It’s meant a reduction in staff, we are 20 percent down,” said Dave Boyer, assistant city manager. “A lot of people are sharing jobs. It’s been challenging. Most (of 330 employees) have not seen an increase in pay in those years.”

The city could have improved its roads and parks, said Boyer. “We would have paid debt, and funded liabilities.

“Our biggest problem now is how are we going to fix our roads. There’s a point you have to invest in infrastructure. The revenue sharing funds could have helped with that.”

The 2015 state budget proposed in late January by Snyder proposes the first significant percentage increase in revenue sharing support for local communities in more than a decade, according to the municipal league.

He pointed out how communities where an emergency manager was assigned to help in past years are needing help again.

Detroit, which gave up $732 million in revenue sharing, fell into bankruptcy last December.

“The problems are structural. Local governments are trapped in a vice,” said Klobucher, citing the restrictions of the Headlee Amendment and Proposal A.

The Headlee Amendment of 1978 requires local governments to roll back their property tax rates when property tax revenues exceed the rate of inflation. Proposal A of 1994 caps increases in taxable property value to 5 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less.

His hope, he said, is that the Legislature will “take steps to correct this problem.”